Verizon six strikes anti-piracy policy throttles you after fifth offense

Comcast, AT&T, Time Warner, Verizon, and Cablevision have all agreed to play ball with the media industry to inconvenience their customers accused of piracy. Few details beyond the “six strikes” policy have been released from any of the ISPs going along with this scheme, but now TorrentFreak has gone public with leaked documents about Verizon’s implementation.

The document, on display as an image at TorrentFreak, explains how Verizon plans to execute the media industry’s orders. The first two violations of its Copyright Alert Program has Verizon emailing and calling you to tell you how naughty you’ve been. The next two violations redirect your browser to a page that lectures you about how bad piracy is and how much trouble you’ll be in if you don’t stop immediately. At this point, it forces you to acknowledge the warning by clicking a button. Worst of all, the last two alerts redirect your browser to a page that gives you three options: slow your internet access to 256Kbps for two-to-three days starting immediately, delay the two-to-three day slowdown by fourteen days, or ask for a review by the American Arbitration Association. That last option requires you to pony up $35, and you’ll only get it back if you effectively win the arbitration.

Regardless of the ethical and legal issues relating to piracy, it’s disgusting that these ISPs have actively volunteered to play internet cop for the media industry. It’s also infuriating that, as a paying customer, you’ll be forced to deal with these warnings and punishments with little recourse. The overzealous media industry is well-known for pulling down online media that is either fair use or completely original content. False positives are an inevitability in this system, and completely innocent paying customers are going to likely be harassed and inconvenienced for no legitimate reason. The worst part is that none of these ISPs were mandated by a court ruling to participate, but simply volunteered.

Humorously, BitTorrent, Inc. just released BitTorrent Surf — an extension for Chrome that streamlines the downloading experience for peer-to-peer hosted files. As piracy becomes easier to perform and harder to prevent, the media industry is pulling out all of the stops. Now that ISPs are in cahoots, there is no telling how far this six strikes system will go. The legal system is effectively being cut out of the loop here, and the monopolistic ISP environment in the United States leaves many people without any other choice — use media-company-ruled ISPs or go without internet access. Major pirates will hide their activities and resume their normal activities, while innocent ISP customers hit with false positives and computer illiterate parents with adventurous children will suffer.

Tagged In

Google Fiber can’t come fast enough. We need a new ISP competitor that actually looks out for their customers.

http://silverfang77.tumblr.com/ Silver Fang

How do we know Google won’t participate in this travesty as well?

http://www.facebook.com/william.talafuse William Talafuse

Because for the most part Google (Android) keeps their products “unlocked,” allowing you to use whatever content or apps you want on them. That’s why they’re blackballing Microsoft with the Youtube app for the MS8 phone. Microsoft locks their products down and requires strict purchase requirements, usually for a significant amount of money. The majority of Google’s products are free to the end user, excluding the “ads” you have to see to view. I find it unlikely that Google will partake in forcing users to do anything that isn’t legally required of them.

JMH

And Google still allows AdBlock to be downloaded from their own Google Play store to run in Google Chrome to block ads on Google’s websites. Apple and MSFT’s strangleholds on their products make them second-rate products that limit freedom to use the stuff that you own.

ISPs are not “in cahoots” with media, far from it. ISPs’ broadband revenues have been built on piracy. ISPs are blatantly ignoring the law to have let this go this far by not terminating repeat infringers as the law calls them to do 17 USC 512(i)

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003543855473 Robert Miller

Comcast owns NBC and Universal.

Time Warner owns The CW and Warner brothers.

Cable companies provide Internet and movies and TV shows

There is no law requiring ISPs to terminate anyone for infringment.

The DCMA provides them with a safe harbor by honoring the DCMA request, and they all do.

Neutrino .

Astonishing that such an uninformed remark gets upvoted!

http://twitter.com/ethicalfan EthicalFan

If an artist wants to give away their music, that is great. The current situation on the internet forces and artist to give away their music. Copyright is a human right. Article 27 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author. Additionally, “sharing” copyrighted content violated US Federal law 17 USC 106 and more than 200,000 people have been sued for doing that since 2010.

If it is illegal, why does it continue? ISPs asked congress for a shield from their third-party copyright liability and they got it in the DMCA in 1998. Now they abuse the law they asked for and have reneged on their agreement with congress and the American people. US law says that ISPs only have safe harbor from their subscribers illegally distributing content if they have a policy for terminating repeat infringers (17 USC 512 (i). If they were doing this, 42% of all US internet upstream traffic wouldn’t be used to illegally distribute music, movies, games, software and ebooks. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics says that musicians wages are down 45% since p2p technology arrived. US Home video sales (DVD, BluRay, PayTV, VOD, Streaming) are down 25% to $18.5B in 2011 from $25B in 2006.

The first BitTorrent search engines debuted in 2004. Recorded music is down worldwide from $27B in 1999 (Napster) to $15B in 2011. Video Game revenue (consoles & PC) is down 13% from 2007. In the meantime US broadband revenues grew from zero to $50B a year in the US with p2p as the killer app that drove broadband adoption. Those are real jobs lost that are not coming back until the public realizes that these are your friends and neighbors whose careers are being destroyed by lack of copyright enforcement. Who is destroying these industries? ISPs who ignore the law 17 USC 512 (i) and do not terminate repeat infringers. US Telecom makes >$400B a year, US creative industries less than <$80B a year. Verizon $120B a year, Electronic Arts $4B, Viacom (CBS, MTV & Paramount Pictures) $14B a year, Warner Music Group $2.4B a year.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003543855473 Robert Miller

You might want to ask itunes and amazon (among many others) how they’re doing.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003543855473 Robert Miller

“Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material
interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production
of which HE is the AUTHOR. Additionally, “sharing” copyrighted content
violated US Federal law 17 USC 106 and more than 200,000 people have
been sued for doing that since 2010.”

The content producers that are pushing the six strikes program may own the copyrights but are not the authors.

If the human being is a woman, she is not covered by this right….So much for the human rights argument… It is not a law and not legally binding

200,000 in two years…not likely. How many convicted?

Perhaps your referring to the all the demand (extortion?) letters sent out by copyright trolls.(look it up)

Finally (maybe) people have shared music and movies for years…in the days of vinyl people loaned out records all the time…still do.In the days of tapes the recording industry tried to have them declared illegal for fear of ruining their industry…it didn’t
in the days of VHS,CDs,DVDs,The Internet….It didn’t

Registeredwithem

“Copyright is a human right.”

One might be forgiven for taking this as a rational statement, considering contemporary context.

Nonetheless, it is frankly nonsensical.

Garry Meadows

I see no correlation or causation in your argument that piracy is the cause of reduced music sales. US Bureau of Labor Statistics has no ability to determine if P2P technology was the cause.

iTunes and Amazon enable us to pay for 1 or 2 songs off an album that I like, rather than buying an album that may only contain 1 or 2 songs that I like. Perhaps the musicians should put more “sell-able” music on their albums.

Of course Telecom makes more than creative…they DO more. Emergency Services, Directory Assistance, TTY services, Voice, Data, and that’s not even counting the devices.

The people “destroying” these industries are the ones who think they can deliver the same service they used to, without evolving with their consumers’ consumption habits.

http://twitter.com/ethicalfan EthicalFan

The six strikes plan will only effect a very small percentage of illegal peer-to-peer distributors because the cost of monitoring has been put on the copyright owners whose revenues are declining.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003543855473 Robert Miller

Who are you fucking kidding! this will affect everyone.
The granny on an unsecured wireless router…the single mom with curious kids.

It’s not that they will have anything happen to them per se but that the companies will get away with it and with no one standing in their way, they will bring on more and more restrictions. This is only the beginning.

Mike Dennison

It will only get worse.

BobDole

Another corporate shill.

http://www.facebook.com/wjdavis0 Bill Davis

Ethical Fan, there is a rather brilliant commentary by Eric Flint (a published author) on the very topic of “rampant” piracy. http://www.baen.com/library/intro.asp Please take a moment to read it as he makes the case from experience, policy, and his pocketbook. Basically it boils down to: most people would rather be honest than dishonest. Really. Given the choice they will overwhelming do the right thing.
Except when corporations do something ridiculous that makes people feel justified in sticking it back to them on a large scale.
What you fail to understand is the fair use of an item is what allows it to be re-used, re-distributed, or even re-sold in some cases. It is how used bookstores can function. I bought a book, it is now MINE. If I resell it, I do not owe the original owner of the book anything, they relinquished those rights by selling the book to me. Digital media makes that a little more problematic, but not really changing basic ownership rights. If I buy it, it is mine to do with as I please. But really, it isn’t like Marvel Comics can come get their cut of the Amazing Spiderman #1 that someone sold for thousands of dollars… it isn’t theirs anymore because they SOLD IT… which is what media companies seem to fail to realize. They don’t own it anymore. man such a simple concept…

http://www.facebook.com/stephen.prokopchuk Stephen Prokopchuk

problem: if you buy an e-book, you don’t own the rights to that book anymore, and hose rights can be revoked at any time…. those EULAs that we click-through have forced us to give up the rights to everything we’ve paid for.

This doesn’t slow down pirates one bit — but it definitely screws with real customers.

http://www.facebook.com/wjdavis0 Bill Davis

That is for DRM ebooks. Which I categorically refuse to buy. ever. I buy only from DRM free publishers (like Baen books). It has just become (blame Amazon) accepted so much elsewhere that it is hard to find stuff that isn’t.

Neon Frank

Glad I’m not in the US, so much better living in a free country

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1223563048 Angel Ham

Or more likely to be in a country that has bigger problems than waste money chasing after a 12yo who just downloaded a Taylor Swift song.

Neon Frank

BINGO

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003543855473 Robert Miller

All the #s that the “entertainment industry” keep throwing out there are completely bogus.

They’re assumption that I’m a pirate if I’m using bit torrent is insulting.

For
the record;I don’t do illegal downloads of anything.I pay for movies
and music,but I don’t buy CDs or DVDs. I do Buy Bluerays. They assume
that if someone illegally downloads something that it’s theft and a lost
sale.Such BS and you seem to buy into it.When you download you get a
copy…they still have the original…nothing was taken.Then they assume
that if I can’t get if for free that I will buy it…Really! When was
the last time you went into tower records and bought a CD.Oh,wait a
minute,Tower records are no longer in business.But you can still get
them at Walmart…if they approve of it and include it in their
inventory.Me, I go to itunes or Amazon.So.Are CD sales down?You bet they
are but not for the reasons you think they are.

DVDs…I live in
a major metro area and there are NO Video rental
stores…ANYWHERE.Except of course, Red Box, and they only carry the top
sellers.For awhile and then you can’t get them anymore…at all.Your
alternative is to buy that DVD or Blueray at walmart or Target etc and
pay ridiculous high prices, and only after it’s been in theaters for two
months.

That brings me to theaters…you know those little boxes
of germs with screaming kids and loud and obnoxious adults and no pause
button so I can go the head without missing anything?Really? $30 for one
crappy movie full of commercials.

Musicians income down by
45%?What musicians you mean like Justin Beiber, Madona, Lady Gaga, New
Direction, Jennifer Lopez, Taylor Swift. Those musicians? or the 80’s
rock group that hasn’t had a hit in 30years?.

All musician will
tell you they get paid very little from record sales.They all make their
money from touring, and concert ticket sales are up.

Now we can
talk about who owns the ISPs or who the ISPs own.All the content
producers either own or have a stake in or are owned (controlled) by
ISPs. Not all ISPs are involved with the six strikes program. Only the
ones that are connected to the content producers.

The six strikes
program is not a court ordered plan based on due process and actual
evidence. You are guilty because THEY think you are!! Arbitration? lolololol. You don’t stand a chance of winning.Don’t even bother…Again, not a court of law.
In
the meantime the ISP’s keep reducing your caps and increasing your
prices while charging you extra for each little device that you
have….so you gotta ask. WHO ARE THE PIRATES AGAIN?

Mike Dennison

Thank You, my words exactly.

Makus Zapojecky

I hope those big companies will go bankrupt soon, so artists can enjoy increased income and people less harassment from all kinds of wrong companies.

http://www.facebook.com/sithtiger Kevin Palmer

I agree with you and I don’t think ‘pirating’ movies, games or CD’s is as bad as stealing something physical, but at the same time I can’t say in good conscience that it’s harmless either.

I might have partaken in such practices in the past, but when these companies state they are losing money due to software piracy…well that’s just bunk! For example record companies make very little on selling CD’s or MP3’s. They make it in concerts and other media.

user 9693

abandon their products like movies songs etc, don’t invest in them or purchase them, they’ll learn by themselves .
piracy helps in advertisement of their products and piracy also helps the users to decide whether or not to pay for the crappy products by using it first.

http://twitter.com/MNguyen88 Michael Nguyen

how about i threaten to leave comcast and then ill take my business to a smaller broadband carrier.

Mike Dennison

They could care less. Besides who are you going to,and they know that.

Mr Moo

And… cue the TOR network…

The majority of people that get affected by this will eventually look for a way to make their actions on the net invisible, and currently, the best way of doing this is called the TOR network, a network of computers around the world that allows you to tunnel your internet data through, encrypting it along the way. Currently, the TOR network is used mostly for illegal activities (real illegal stuff such as drug and firearms sales).

Blocking the pirates will cause more people to use TOR, therefore TOR will get alot more advanced and become easier to access and use. People will then find out about all the illegal stuff on TOR and a new race of criminals will be spawned, from gun runners to thieves, to drug dealers.

Congratulations Verizon, you are about to successfully push the internet into the underworld.

AmericanRequiem

This is true and entirely possible

http://profiles.google.com/joelsapp Joel Sapp

What’s funny here is that these ISP could filter out bad websites that steal money from customers, they could block obviously malicious websites, but instead they do this.

http://www.facebook.com/techyogi Benjamin Sanders

simple. throttle me and watch me cancel service and go elsewhere the exact same day. done!

chojin999

With Barack Hussein Obama still in charge of the USA soon people will be punished in public like in muslim Al Qaeda driven countries for having downloaded “pirated” content.

Chris Martin

The answer is simple – sign up to one of the many VPNs online and your ISP won’t have a clue what’s going across their network. Sure, you’re proxying, but every connection is completely encrypted and they are very high speed pretty much close to connecting directly.

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